Right from my childhood days, I have always loved train journeys and continue to do so even as a senior citizen. Gone are the days of coal-fired steam engines that would leave us looking like chimney sweeps at the end of a long and arduous journey. In those days, most people travelled by sleeper class and what perhaps disturbed their peace and sleep during the journey was the whistle of the engine or the clanking of the wheels on the tracks (for some this could very well be the lullaby that would put them to sleep) or the occasional call of hawkers when the train stopped at stations during the night. Sometimes, one may be unlucky enough to be in a coach surrounded by snoring of varying decibels and frequencies or with a little child that decides to wail all night long.
However, one could always hope for and sometimes be blessed by lady luck’s benevolence and be free from such disruptions on some journeys. Today, with technology ruling the roost, travellers face a disturbance of a different kind in their journeys from which no amount of prayers or good fortune can shield them. Yes, the ubiquitous cellphones with their myriad ringtones and text notifications that neither sleep nor let others sleep. How often has one not been drawn back to earth from the dream world by the sudden sound of a fast-paced film song or the gentle strains of devotional music making one wonder for a minute if it is already daybreak. It does not end here as the sedate mind is further tortured by being an unwilling listener to the conversation that follows where every syllable sounds deafening in the silence of the night. And just when you feel that you have managed to calm your mind to drift off into some semblance of sleep, you are jolted awake by the sound of barking dogs or the scream of banshees from another cellphone.
Considering that for many people their ringtone is a definition of their personality, one can only imagine how creepy and annoying this can be. Your fate could be worse if you have the misfortune to travel with passengers who feel that the coach is their home theatre and decide to watch action movies on their laptops (sans earphones or headphones) late into the night with scant regard for their fellow travellers. Then there are those who think they are on the dance floor and want others to enjoy and shake a leg to their choice of dance numbers. You also may have co-passengers who in their keenness to keep abreast of state matters tune in to one of those heated and meaningless debates on some news channels with not a thought for the little child fast asleep or the elderly person in the adjacent berth.
While our Constitution does provide citizens with certain fundamental rights, it has to be borne in mind that they all come with certain reasonable restrictions. Unfortunately, we as a nation have always believed that individual freedom comes unfettered and the distinction between “private” and “public” space is non-existent in our minds. Unlike on flights, it would be a near-impossible task for any agency to monitor or control usage of phones in trains given the magnitude. The only way then to control this menace is for co-passengers to raise their collective voices. On many occasions, I have found myself to be the sole voice objecting to such irresponsible behaviour and have even been branded as being “intolerant”. While this menace is only bound to become a problem of gargantuan proportions in the coming years, I hope that at least a few travellers become more responsible and sensitive and decide to “sleep and let others sleep” while travelling.
Lakshmi_Visweswaran@hotmail.com
